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Friday, 20 February 2015

1000 Speak for Compassion: Compassion in the Trenches

Was the War a Compassion-Free Zone?

I’m taking part in a global initiative called 1,000 Voices
for Compassion. Today, bloggers all over
the world are writing posts about compassion.
I was slightly at a loss when my good friend Yvonne mentioned her idea –
wonderful though it is, it doesn’t seem to fit comfortably with military
history. I thought I might have to give
it a miss, until I read the Pope’s Lenten message. There, he referred to the globalisation of indifference, a state in which we are often so
caught up in our internal world that compassion gets left behind. It led me to wonder what happens to compassion when we are
caught up in the horrors of our external world; when there’s a war, for instance.

Compassion: It's Not Just for Christmas

Artist's Impression of the Christmas Truce 1914

Source: Wikimedia, Public Domain

Amid all the carnage of the Great War, it’s tempting to
think that compassion was blown away, shattered like the tree stumps on the
Western Front. The narrative that we
have received supports this idea. War
poets like Wilfred Owen recounted their experiences in words dripping with pain
and bitterness; films dwell on the drama and gore. But in those four years did stiff upper lips
replace kind hearts; did cynicism overtake kindness; was compassion overtaken
by duty?

My feeling is no, compassion did not wither away. It was alive and well, although it was
sometimes forgotten in the everyday routine of life, just as it so often is
today. I’ve not undertaken any great
research on this, it’s just my opinion, based on snippets of information I’ve
read over the years. Some of it’s in the
public domain, some of it is amongst my family’s papers.

One of the most iconic moments of the war was rooted in
compassion: the Christmas Truce and
football match of 1914. The men on the
ground left their trenches and met in no man’s land to fraternise, celebrating
peace and exchanging small tokens. No
hate, no rancour, just care and empathy for their fellow men. Over all too soon, but a glimmer of
compassion in the midst of the mud.

Greater Love Hath No Man

The Noel Chavasse Memorial

By Gaius Cornelius (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In the panic and chaos of the trenches, compassion could go
unnoticed, but occasionally it was seen and rewarded. The Victoria Cross is awarded to military
personnel who display bravery, valour or self-sacrifice in the face of the
enemy. Often, the men who received the
award during World War 1, did so because they were attempting to rescue wounded
comrades. 628 VCs were awarded during
the war to 627 men. Captain Noel
Chavasse VC received the award twice.
Captain Chavasse, a doctor with the RAMC was first awarded a VC for his
action in recovering and treating the wounded whilst under heavy fire at
Guillemont on 9 August 1916. He received
his bar (second award) for refusing to leave his post for two days, despite
being wounded, and assisted in not only treating men, but carrying them to safety
whilst again under heavy fire. He was to
die of his own wounds shortly thereafter.

I can think of no greater compassion than to ignore the risk
to one’s own life in pursuit of the safety of another’s. Men awarded VCs, like Captain Chavasse, are
not the only ones to have risked themselves.
Many unarmed stretcher bearers laboured in the mire of no man’s land to
recover their comrades and bring them to safety.

Uncommon Kindness for the Common Man

Combat on the front line produced its heroes, but away from
the action there were everyday deeds of kindness too. My great-uncle Sidney was wounded early in
1917. Somehow, someone got word to one
of his brothers. Edwin was stationed, I
believe, at a hospital far away from Sidney, where he worked with St John
Ambulance. There must have been thousands
of men wounded at that time, but rather than treating this family crisis as a
commonplace occurrence that must be endured, Edwin’s superior officers
organised a train ticket and gave him leave to visit his brother. Despite a frantic dash across France, he
arrived “too late to see the last of Dear Sidney”, assuring his parents in his letter home that the
hospital staff were kind and sent condolences.
Edwin stayed overnight with an NCO who gladly offered to share his quarters. The next day, Edwin bought flowers for the
funeral and again was treated kindly by the military and hospital staff. Back at his own hospital, he was met with
condolences and recognition of the pain of his loss from comrades and superiors
alike.

It seems to me that there was plenty of compassion in the war, and not just the great acts of bravery and heroism, but small, simple gestures that made life slightly more bearable in a time that could have become all too unbearable. Today, as the Pope said, we are in danger of becoming indifferent to our neighbours and losing our compassion for our fellow beings. Yet, if these soldiers, medics and nurses could show compassion in the midst of all the suffering around them, never losing sight of their humanity, we can too. More good reason to say:

5 comments:

This is absolutely fascinating. Do you think war back then was much different from now?My grandfather was stationed on a uboat for the Canadian Navy. On Halloween, they sunk a German ship. They pulled an officer onboard. He didn't speak English but he tried so hard....he died in my grandfather's arms. It haunted him. He thought that maybe he could have passed along his final farewells or that he could have consoled him better if he knew German vice versa....It all boils down to - we are all one - human and we all are deserving of respect and compassion.I really loved that you touched on this aspect of compassion.

Thanks for commenting and sharing your grandfather's story Kimberly. I can understand how much that experience would have weighed on your grandfather, but I'm sure we both know that your grandfather's actions and tone of voice during the German officer's final moments said all that needed to be said.

Do I think war is different from now - yes, there was a far greater pressure on people in an external sense - imminent danger to life and limb. Nowadays, the pressure is often internal, a perceived danger to our self esteem (although in our current financial situation there are real dangers to our job/home security). Either way, we need to hold on to our compassion and not overlook the sufferings of our neighbours.

Judith, that story of your great-uncles is both really sad and really reassuring and touching - in that the hospital staff were so kind towards your great uncle. The doctor's story is interesting too. It makes sense that a doctor would care about his patients - that's why they do the job. I guess what it comes down to is that people just are compassionate and even terrible circumstances like war can't totally destroy that human spirit. Which is a very good thing! Thanks so much for joining in 1000 Voices For Compassion and with such an original piece!

if religious would not so damaging; be careful, religious-demoniac-Enola Gays-little boy-fat man-sick homo-vices-religious go saying un "their" global media that "World War III has already begun"...because Humankind escapes from religious, and religion no more, Humankind go to a best Future; demoniac-religious would give a pity